Different IRA factions may have come together to co-ordinate their
actions in two deadly attacks this week.

In an unprecedented assault, the ‘Real IRA’/Oglaigh na hEireann shot
dead two soldiers at the Massereene Barracks in Antrim, west of
Belfast on Saturday night.

Less than 48 hours later, a member of the PSNI police was killed by a
Continuity IRA sniper as he responded to a call in Craigavon, south of
Belfast.

The actions horrified the political establishment, but by Thursday had
provoked a determined response.

The first indication of the impending crisis came from PSNI Chief Hugh
Orde last week, when he raised the republican “threat” level to
“severe”.

He then confirmed that a murderous SAS-linked ‘intelligence’ regiment,
the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, had been redeployed to the North
of Ireland.

The SSR was formed from the 14th Intelligence Company, one of the lead
British Army units responsible for controlling the unionist death
squads.

The regiment’s return has been blamed for triggering subsequent
events.

On Saturday night, as a consignment of food was being delivered at the
gates of the British Army’s Massereene base in County Antrim, two
members of the ‘Real IRA’ suddenly attacked the heavily fortified
base.

The full frontal assault caught both troops and the base’s armed
security guards by surprise. After two bursts of gunfire, two
soldiers were fatally wounded and two other soldiers were wounded.
Two food service workers also lay injured.

News of the attack filtered out in a drip-feed manner, amid rumours
and contradictions. It was several hours before it was finally
confirmed that the British Army had suffered two casualties, and that
the IRA pair had escaped.

The news stunned the Dublin and London governments and infuriated
unionists.

British Direct Ruler Shaun Woodward condemned the shootings as “an act
of criminal barbarism”. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, described
the attacks as “evil and cowardly”.

26-County Taoiseach Brian Cowen criticised what he said was a “tiny
group of evil people” who would not undermine the will of the people
of Ireland.

DUP leader Peter Robinson described those involved as “crazed gunmen”,
while his colleague, Assembly member David Simpson, spoke of “vermin”.

Jim Allister, the leader of Traditional Unionist Voice, condemned the
“dastardly IRA murders” and insisted there was “a mutual affinity
between all the strands of the IRA”.

But Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness insisted the “war is over”. He
described the attack as “totally and absolutely wrong”.

“I was a member of the IRA but that war is over now. The people
responsible for last night’s incident are clearly signalling that they
want to resume or restart that war. Well, I deny their right to do
that.”

Significantly, Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams also said the party
supported the PSNI in their bid to capture the ‘Real IRA’ unit.

“The police also have a responsibility to give leadership and to
behave at all times in a transparent and accountable manner. The
British government has a duty to uphold the new political arrangement
and the peace process,” the West Belfast MP added.

However, Ruairi O Bradaigh, president of Republican Sinn Fein, took a
sharply contrary view. He said that “as long as the British government
and British occupation troops remain in Ireland there will be Irish
people to oppose their presence here”.

But with the North still reeling, there was a further shock on Monday
night, with news of an ambush in a Craigavon housing estate in which a
member of the PSNI was shot dead.

The attack was quickly claimed in the name of the Continuity IRA, the
organisation’s first ever fatal attack on the Crown forces in almost
13 years of armed struggle.

Where so many previous attempts had failed or been aborted, the two
deadly republican attacks in quick succession suddenly appeared to
herald a return to conflict.

The situation had become intense by Tuesday morning. A sense of direct
threat appeared to grip the political establishment, and a second,
much more determined torrent of condemnation was unleashed.

“This is a battle of wills between the political class and the evil
gunmen and the political class will win,” the DUP leader Peter
Robinson, declared.

Martin McGuinness, a former commander of the Provisional IRA, standing
side-by-side with Robinson and PSNI Chief Hugh Orde at Stormont, made
a historic denunciation of former comrades, who he said were “traitors
to the island of Ireland”.

They had “betrayed the political desires, hopes and aspirations of all
of the people who live on this island”.

That statement was strongly welcomed by unionists and the British
government, but it shocked republican hard-liners.

Republican Sinn Fein spokesman Richard Walsh responded by saying: “I
think he’d need to look closer to home for who are the traitors,
frankly”.

The Eirigi party did not comment on Mr McGuinness’s statement, but
pointed out that it had no connections to any armed group.

“The only threat we pose is to the British occupation of Ireland,”
said spokesperson Breandan Mac Cionnaith.

“While that British occupation continues there will always be people
willing to resist.”

He said nationalists would never accept the legitimacy of the PSNI.

A heavy-handed policing operation in Craigavon saw frequent
disturbances. Raids were carried out on several houses in Drumbeg,
near the scene of Monday evening’s shooting, as republican youths
rioted.

Shaun Woodward promised that Orde would receive “the resources he
needs” to deal with the threat but that there was no desire to end
“normal policing”, or bring troops back onto the streets.

The raids led to the arrest on Tuesday of a 37-year-old man and a
17-year-old youth. Images taken from a police helicopter of the
teenager’s arrest, surrounded by dozens of armed PSNI officers,
appeared in news publications around the world. The message was clear:
the fight-back had begun.

Peace vigils were quickly organised by the trade unions on Wednesday,
bringing thousands onto the streets in Belfast, Lisburn, Newry,
Downpatrick and Derry. By Thursday, police chiefs from both sides of
the border were meeting to discuss the security response.

Meanwhile, the PSNI was dealing with numbers of hoaxes and alerts. The
landmark Crumlin Road Courthouse in north Belfast was set ablaze,
while there were reports of a large device being found near a British
Army base in County Down.

But where Sinn Fein had been accused by some in the British press of
using “weasel words” early in the week, the new message coming from
all of the parties was of unanimity.

By Thursday night, there was confidence among the North’s politicians
that the storm had been weathered and that calm had largely been
restored. However, there was still concern at reports that the new IRA
factions had begun recruiting at a greatly accelerated pace.

Speaking after a meeting with Brian Cowen and 26-County Minister for
Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin in Dublin yesterday, Gerry Adams
insisted the groups had a limited capacity.

“They showed that recently and three people are now dead, a number of
people are injured. And the fact is that the rest of us, and that’s
right across this island, have said we don’t want it,” he said.

“That’s why I make the point that they shouldn’t have any room to
breathe, that no one should support them, give succour to them, join
them or work with them.”

And he emphasised that the attacks had “created an unprecedented
degree of unity” between the political parties in the North.

“I am confident that, without minimising the challenges, that the
popular resolve will prevail and that the process of change will
continue.”

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